This invention generally relates to compounds which find use as explosives and more particularly to nitro group containing terphenyl explosives and to intermediates from which these explosives are prepared.
It is ordinarily of primary importance that an explosive be thermally stable so that when it is exposed to high temperatures either for an extended period of time or for a short period of time, it will not decompose. Additionally, if an explosive is to be exposed to radiation it is also important that it be radiation stable so that it will not decompose. Thus, in the prior art there has been a search for explosives which possess both thermal and radiation stability. Compounds such as 1,3-diamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene and 3,3'-diamino-2,2',4,4',6,6'-hexanitrobiphenyl have shown both thermal and radiation stability but the performance of these compounds has left much to be desired.